Wigginton & Haxby Table Tennis Club has been providing a community table tennis service to the people of York for more than five years, and has been growing membership steadily every year.We pride ourselves on being inclusive and accessible to all, providing a fun and engaging environment for people of all ages and abilities to come together and enjoy social and competitive table tennis throughout the year.

As a Table Tennis England Premier Club, we are supporting the national initiative to get more young people playing table tennis across the country.With the help of a grant from Aviva, we are proposing to set up and run a youth programme, involving:

1. Dedicated coaching sessions for young people to learn the skills of table tennis in a challenging yet enjoyable environment, progressing from beginner to a more advanced level.2. A local short-form league for junior players. This will take the form of regular competitions involving teams of 2 where matches can be completed within an hour.3. Encouragement to progress in the sport through purchase of club kit and awards, and feeding players into the York & District coaching programme.4. Promoting key young people in the club to TTE Young Ambassadors that will act as coaches and role models for further youth development:https://tabletennisengland.co.uk/coach/young-ambassadors

This will be complemented with an investment in club kit for senior teams to make junior players feel part of a common club environment.

Delivering this project will provide a much needed table tennis facility in York for young people to build their fitness, confidence and social skills that they will take into adulthood.